Lee Macmillan was 28 years old Van Life Influencer died by suicide, she was hit and killed by an Amtrak train in Santa Barbara, Calif., Friday after going missing.
On March 26th, she was found dead a post on her Instagram page said on March 29″After living an extraordinary life, and fighting a brave battle with depression, our hearts are shattered to share that Lee took her life on Friday,” and added, “She was the brightest light, a magnetic force of nature and was loved by so so many.”
Her Australian partner Max Bidstrup wrote for his ex on social media. “It was always you [red heart emoji],” he wrote. “You were the best thing to ever happen to me. You were the best person I have ever met. I fell in love with you the day we met yet you were still the stronger one that said ‘I love you’ first. I never stopped loving you Mountie, I hope you know that [red heart emoji]. I will always cherish my time with you in this world and hope beyond hope to see you in the next. Save some mini eggs for me.”
Who was Lee Macmillan?
She and her Australian partner Max Bidstrup used to post about their travels with their dog, Occy, on Instagram and YouTube.
MacMillan built up a social media following with her ex-boyfriend Max Bidstrup as they took on adventures with their dog Occy in a travel van. On their YouTube channel Max & Lee, they amassed 497,000 followers.
MacMillan went on to launch her own channel in December titled Life with Lee that has 49, 800 followers. Furthermore, she updated fans in January on what she had been up to in the year since she’d been off YouTube. MacMillan said that she was working on her mental health, had picked up golf and cycling, and began dating Jordan Chiu.
A GoFundMe page has been set up in MacMillan’s name and the page reads “After living an extraordinary life, and fighting a brave battle with depression, our hearts are shattered to share that Lee took her life on Friday, March 26, 2021. She was the brightest light, a magnetic force of nature, and was loved by so so many.
If we can do one thing for Lee now, in the midst of this soul-crushing loss, it’s to spread the message that mental health is just as real as physical health, and that illness can strike anyone, no matter how unlikely they may seem. Lee’s struggles with her mental health were also compounded in her last months of life by persistent and often vicious cyberbullying, and we want to drive home the point that cyberbullying has real life consequences — the people on the other side of the screen have real lives, real feelings, and real struggles of their own.”
Till now $65,710 raised of $100,000 goal.
Boyfriend
In November 2020, Lee posted about her new boyfriend, Jordan Chiu, and then got a new van in January 2021 to pursue more travels.
Chiu penned on Instagram on March 30, “You were a dream beyond my wildest dreams,” and added “You filled my heart up full to bursting and stretched it further than what I ever imagined was possible. You were my person, my partner, my best friend. Every day with you was an adventure and I hope wherever you are you’ve found peace and snuggles. Rest easy puppy. I love you more than you will ever know.”